Arizona silver belt., 1887-08-27
RASCALEY REAVBS.
The Other Side of fhe Story and thc Facts
 in the Case

Hon. Patrick Hamilton. Tn a lette
 to the Los Angeles Herald, gives tn, following succinct statement of fact
 in reference to the alleged Peralt; grant, showing the fimsy and fraudu lent nature of J. A. Reavis claim:
 In 1864 and 1865 one George M Willing, ,Jr., famIliarly known as Doc Willing, was engaged in mining neal | Prescott. Of absolute habits, he wai looked upon as rather shrewd and en tirely interruptions. In October, 1864 Willing lad placed on reeor3 in tI2e Recorders office of Yavapai county, at ! Prescott, an instrument in writing which purported to convey to sad Willing the rights and interests of one Miguel Peralta to an alleged land grant situated somewhere in Arizona Territory. The document was signed by two witnesses, but was never ac- knowledged before any officer author ized to take oaths. In 1867 or '68 Will ling left the country and nothing was heard from him until 1874, when he again appeared in Prescott, declar- ing he represented a St. Louis com pany which he had formed for the purpose of developing his mining claims. He cut rather wide swarth for awhile, giving out that he was backed by unlimited capital, but this clam, like many others which the Doe was in the habit of making, proved to be without any foundation. Something less than a year after his return Wiling was taken seriously i'll, being without means he was taken to the county hospital where he fingered few days and died. During his res idence Tn Prescott, Willing scarcely ever alluded to his grant" made no effort to assert his supposItious rights to the same, and Tn hls last illness never once alluded to the matter.
 In 1879 or 80, J. Addison Reavis appeared in Prescott and represented himself as agent and travelling corre- respondent of the San Francisco Ex- aminer. In conversation he stated that he was from St. Lotus, and claimed 'kin" with his namesake, inc famous 7capiFol mover. ReaviS made many inquiries about Wiling and hls last illness, and was particularly anxious to discover any papers or other documents which the deceased might have left behind. After thIs J. Addison Reavis disappeared from pub lie view and was not again heard from until the spring of 1883. At that time he presented himself in the city of Phoenix, and for the first time an- nounced his claim to the immense do- main which he called the "Peralta grant" He engaged rooms at the principal hotel, spread out his formid- able array of documents and invited the people to acknowledge his claim and bow to his authority as the legal heir of the "Baron of the Colorados. " In explaining the Inks of this title he declared that the grant had been orig inally given to one of the Peralta fam fly by the King of Spain, as a reward for meritorious servIces; that Willing had obtained hls title from the Peralta herr, and that he (Beavis) had secured his title from Willing's widow. After short stay in Phoenix Reavis took his departure and was next heard of at Florence, thriving town on the Gila river, which he also clalmed was within the limits of his grant. D There he pursued the satie course as in Phepix-levying blackmail on all who would acknowledge his title" and take his deed.
 In the summer of 1884 Reavis paid another visit to Phoenix and began at once the work of extorting money from timid settlers who were awed by the mass of papers and documents which he produced, many of them be- ing in the Spanish language. He sold his deeds at from $5 to $25 each, and to many of the prominent citizens and property owners he offered them free gratis, Reavis hoping, by this means, to win over the leading settlers, and thus create public sentiment in his favor In all the deeds which the "Baron" gave here he distinctly claims his title from Willing'S widow, and completely ignores tho claims of the Baroness. So scandalouS did his black mailing proceedings become that Clark Churchill, then Attorney-GeneraI of the Territory, instituted legal pro- ceedings and summoned him to show cause why he should not be punished for obtaining money under false pre- tences. In his examination, Reavis was entirely non-committal, claim Ing that his title was being inyestl- gatef and would soon be reported upon. Under oath, he stated that he had received money from the South ern Pacific RaIlroad Company amount.